Adding Blood to the Brood
by Scotch-Irish Rose
Summary: Even after being married for over one hundred years, the matriarch and patriarch of the Munster household are given an opportunity to love a second child. Rated "T" to be safe, though extremely, extremely tame.


**A/N: This is a little tidbit I dreamed up, focusing on one of my favorite shows from the '60s. I'd have to say it's fairly well-loved with a modest following. I enjoy it, at least. :) With this little one shot, we delve a bit deeper into the Countess of the Shroudshire's backstory, something that was a bit neglected I felt in the original series. Hope you all enjoy, I'm trying some more fandoms. Perhaps I'll write more of this...**

**I don't own ANY of the rights to _The Munsters._ Of course, I wish I did!**

* * *

Adding Blood to the Brood  


"W-well, Mrs. Munster," Dr. Dudley stammered anxiously, plucking the stethoscope from his ears as Lily draped her shawl over her shoulders. "I r-really can't see anything wrong with you. You appear to be, well, perfectly—_h-healthy." _He swallowed hard, gulping down his inhibitions along with the lump in his throat. Could he really—with his medical license—still be deemed a credible professional if he told Mrs. Lily Munster that she was, for lack of a better word, completely normal?

"Oh, that's wonderful," Lily sighed in relief, stroking the jet-black strands of hair spilling over her shoulders. "I can't tell you how thankful I am, Doctor."

"Oh, i-it's no trouble at all," Dudley managed, offering the gleeful woman before him a slight smile. "You're quite well, Mrs. Munster, and I assume your child is, as well." he added, his grin widening as Lily's piercing eyes softened.

"Oh, yes, Doctor. Our Eddie's just like any healthy young boy—active, bright, curious, and he has an impeccably strong howl for a werewolf his age. His father and I are very proud of him." the vampiress boasted, cocking her head ever so slightly as the pallid color flushed across the doctor's face.

"Oh, n-no, Mrs. Munster. I mean your _other _child." Dudley corrected her, fumbling with his hands nervously at the thought of this woman adding to her already outlandish brood and bringing another member of said brood into the world.

Lily furrowed her brow. "I'm afraid I don't understand—"

"Your _baby." _the doctor elaborated, a slight grin creeping across his whiskered face. "Mrs. Munster," he continued, his smile growing brighter, "do you see what I'm getting at?"

"Doctor, I think I may understand just what you mean—" Dudley chuckled. "What I'm trying to say is—w-well, what I'm meaning to tell you—is that you're, uh, p-pregnant, Mrs. Munster."

Lily's eyes widened to the circumference of saucers, her lips parting as to allow her mouth to gape, her sparkling fangs gleaming under the light. "M-me?" she whispered, raising her brows. The expectant mother felt her knees slowly beginning to buckle, and she quickly navigated to a chair, taking a seat before she collapsed out of shock. "Herman and I are going to have another baby." she murmured to herself, giggling effeminately at her statement of the obvious. "Oh, Dr. Dudley, I've got vulturebumps all _over!"_ she proceeded to exclaim, rising to her feet once more and placing her hands fondly upon her torso, becoming better acquainted with her child all the while.

"Yes, well." The doctor cleared his throat, opening the door to his office. "J-just take it easy, Mrs. Munster. Don't hesitate to call if you there are any problems"

"Oh, of course, Doctor!" Lily chimed, gliding out of the room with a cordial smile. "Th-thank you. Thank you _ever _so much."

And with that, the second coming of the mother-to-be took her leave.

* * *

The odd cravings for blood—how could she have not taken note of such an evident sign? Shortly before she'd become aware that she was expecting their son, Eddie, Lily Munster longed for the taste of the crimson brew on her tongue. Her freshly-filed, piercing fangs would tingle wistfully with that ever too familiar desire for a drink, and whenever her father happened to be indulging in a little drink, her sharpened, vampiress senses immediately came to life.

Of course, she _was _the offspring of Count Dracula himself. One would assume this fact alone would be a plausible reason as to why she would harbor such a craving. Grandpa could often be found down in his laboratory until the wee hours of morning, all the while brewing up quite literally a Bloody Mary. Her father was always up for an indulgence in one (or more) of his infamous midnight cocktails. However, ever since she and her family had moved to suburbia from the old country, the sole daughter of the Count had deserted her inherent instincts—a fact that drove her father up the wall.

While growing up in Transylvania, Grandpa had raised her on blood, and he had rejected anything that went against a vampire's way of life or disrespected the sacred Dracula name. But, after all, Lily was not of pure blood herself. Her mother—who was, in fact, of pure human breed—had shuddered at the thought of her daughter embracing her heritage. She was just as human as she was vampiress, her mother had reasoned, and Lily did realize now that this had been a valid point her mother had raised. From then on, Lily had abstained from blood, practicing temperance throughout her adolescence and adult years. After over a hundred and twenty-five years, her taste for the drink had all but diminished.

And now, her cravings had reemerged. This was quite the anomaly, and she had immediately turned to Dr. Dudley for counsel. After she'd achieved her epiphany, she at last was able to comprehend her symptoms.

Lily had never expected to become pregnant, although the thought had crossed her mind once and a while, usually when she and Herman were occupying a pleasant solitude. There, she could be left with her deepest thoughts. But, at a hundred and fifty years old, she hadn't expected to be having another baby. After all, she and Herman were so blissful with Eddie.

Marilyn was the very first individual she turned to after coming to terms with her pregnancy. Of course, her niece was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of having another cousin. Lily assumed that her father would be in consensus with Marilyn, for although he adored and worshiped his only grandchild, Lily had always gotten the feeling that her father had wished her to give birth to child like himself—a baby who was blessed with that pure, true vampire blood whom he could instruct to rise to the occasion and embrace his or her heritage as their grandfather did. Her darling son never failed to bring that horrid tinge of color to her cheeks whenever he inquired about the chances of his parents having another child so he may one day have a younger sibling. Yes, Lily and her husband had tried to conceive several times in the past, to no avail. On general principles, Lily suspected Herman would be thrilled with a new baby, but recent circumstances had led her to believe otherwise.

Lately, there had been strange goings-on in the Munster household. Lily and Herman had recently celebrated their one-hundredth wedding anniversary, and truthfully the vampiress couldn't have been happier with their marriage. However, when her Herman began working late nights once again, she had begun to develop a suspicion as to why he was spending so much more time away from home, especially due to the fact that he would miss supper frequently, resulting in Lily leaving a full smoked pig on the table and pot of bird's nest soup on the stove for a midnight snack when he finally did come home, quite often past midnight. Herman wasn't the type of man to miss meals, which led his wife to believe that _something _was going on. At first, Lily suspected that he had a mistress, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Herman had always been faithful to her—their marriage had lasted over one-hundred years, after all. Very few women could say that, a fact that Lily took great pride in.

When the suspicious wife finally confronted her husband out of sheer curiosity, he replied that, as head of the household, it was his duty to make sure that his family was well taken care of. He also informed her that the family had been suffering a bit financially, so he was slaving away on overtime to make the extra money to support them.

Hearing this, Lily had instantly become concerned about the fact of having another child. Another mouth to feed would most assuredly provide no aid to their financial situation, and if their future son or daughter at all took after their father, that extra mouth would be very large and insatiable indeed, Lily feared.

* * *

"Herman," Lily whispered sharply, craning her neck to spot her husband's enormous, snoring form. "Pussycat—"

Herman yawned groggily. "No, Grandpa, I _haven't_ been down in the dungeon..." A deep chuckle emitted from him, and his wife frowned.

With a huff, Lily sat up, folding her arms over her chest. "Herman Munster, I'm speaking to you." she growled, giving her husband a fierce prodding.

"Mhmm, that's wonderful, dear." Herman grunted, giving the quilts upon their bed a yank as he draped them further over his oversized body.

Lily fell back upon the bed, twirling the flower she clutched in her hand mindlessly as she stared at the ceiling. She had to come clean this instant; she'd never have the nerve to if she opted out of revealing the truth this time.

"Herman, I have to talk to you. Do you hear me? I _must." _she ordered, sitting up once more.

Herman at last rolled over, stretching as he did so. "Alright, alright." he groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Propping his head up with a strong hand, he gazed at her, listening intently. He was awake now; _what _could be so important as to compel Lily to awaken him so forcefully? He didn't dare question her, for fear of her wrath. Of course, she would never _physically _reprimand him—but her sharp tongue was something he'd become acquainted with in the past, and truthfully wished to avoid.

Now that Herman's sole attention was focused on her, Lily spoke. "I've been having some unusual cravings recently, dear." she blurted, surprising herself at her lack of reluctance to venture into this topic.

"L-like what, Lily?" Herman responded, faintly intrigued.

"Blood." his wife stated matter-of-factly, her expressive eyes becoming an abyss. It was quite becoming of her, in her husband's profound opinion.

Herman appeared puzzled, but shrugged nevertheless. "Well, Lily, dear, I'm sure Grandpa would be more than willing to fix up a little drink for you." he said gently, kissing his wife's forehead before wishing her wonderful nightmares.

"Herman, you _know _I don't drink blood anymore. I wouldn't be setting a good example for our little boy; you know how impressionable Eddie is. And I _do _wish Grandpa would kick his awful habit. He's starting to develop a real problem. You must remind me to give him a talking to..." There she went—avoiding what was _really _on her mind.

"Then what's the matter, dear?" Herman inquired, his curiosity reaching it's highest point.

The stunning vampiress hesitated whilst she allowed her fangs to meander to her lips, beginning to chew away at them with absentmindedness.

After a maddening silence, she summoned her elusive courage, though she decided to give a more subtle approach a try. "I've been feeling a bit under the weather, Pussycat." she admitted, casually smoothing a crinkle in her nightgown that was quite invisible to her husband's eyes.

He offered her a slight, crooked grin—that trademark look of his. His wife adored it. "I wouldn't have noticed, Lily. Your face is so lovely and sallow."

Lily cracked a simper, fully exposing her primed fangs. "Oh, Herman." she crooned, clearing her throat and shaking off her impending swooning over her husband's charm. She tried again. "Herman, what would you say if I told you that our Eddie could have a little playmate soon—that there'd be another little pair of feet scampering around?"

Herman became noticeably thrilled. "L-Lily! I-is Spot going to have babies?" he inquired ecstatically. His face soon became disenchanted. "Hmm, I suppose not. Spot's a boy, after all. That wouldn't work, would it, dear?"

Lily suppressed the desire to roll her eyes, offering her sensitive man a loving smile instead. "No, dear."

"Is Googie coming back?" Herman asked, a slight shudder wracking his form. "Please, don't let it be, Lily!"

"Oh, of course not, Herman!" his wife assured him with enthusiasm, resting a delicate hand upon his massive shoulder. "That boy is a bad influence on our dear, sweet, little Eddie."

"Alright, then. Let me in on it." Herman said, his voice becoming low and all the more gravelly. He leaned in, expecting his love to confide in him. "What's the big secret, Lily?"

_It surely won't be a secret for long, _Lily mused within her innermost thoughts.

"H-Herman, wh-what would you say to a—t-to another..." she began. Her throat was rapidly closing up, inhibiting her from speaking.

"Another _what, _Lily? Car, television, _father-in-law?" _Herman pursued, shrugging sheepishly at his wife's scowl.

"_Child," _she said at last, "a _child! _A _baby, _Herman!"

Their eyes locked for a fleeting moment; to the proud husband and father, it was if he were falling in love with his wife all over again. That captivating vampiress—from the first moment he laid his second-hand eyes on her, he was enthralled. At this very moment, he was doing all he could to avoid fainting out of sheer happiness.

"Lily, dear... a baby?" he said softly, studying his wife's form intrusively with a puzzled gaze. He knew very little about how a woman functioned in _those _ways. His romantic actions with Lily for the first time didn't occur without her instruction.

His beloved nodded slowly, her mouth creeping upward in a delighted smile at Herman's evident joy. A new playmate for Eddie? Herman worshiped the ground his wife and son walked upon (and sometimes, in his wife's case, floated above). Their happiness equaled his happiness, after all.

"Lily, how did this happen?" Herman asked giddily, taking pride in his wife's grin.

"Oh, sometimes these things just happen." Lily responded rather vaguely, assuming that any possible little jaunt involving the explanation of "the birds and the bees" to her husband would be far too cliché.

* * *

The night the child was born was nearly surreal; it brought insurmountable delight to the entire household. The deafening claps of thunder and blinding flashes of lightning were so aesthetically pleasing, the entire family was able to rid themselves of the panic and anxiety they faced during their matriarch's labor, even Herman, who was practically a basket case during those hours of agonizing patience.

The baby was born a healthy girl, adorned with a set of pearly fangs like her mother and grandfather. Grandpa was especially thrilled that the new addition to the brood was indeed a vampire—a vampiress, to be exact. Despite the baby's unexpected and involuntary habit of letting loose a screech now and then and transforming into a bat in the blink of an eye, the Munsters provided their newest family member unconditional, doting love.

As an homage to the Count himself, the child would be deemed Samantha Dracula Munster, bringing the tightly-knit, ghoulish kin closer than ever.


End file.
